The Family Information Office in Town Hall

The Family Information Office is a central source of information for all families. Whether in a personal meeting, online, or in our informational publications, here you will find an overview of family-related topics and services available in Leipzig. Here, too, we welcome your comments and suggestions, to help us make Leipzig even more "family-friendly".

The Family Information Office is operated by the Office for Youth, Family and Education in cooperation with the local family alliance "Leipzig - a City for Families".

While you meet with a counsellor to get advice for all of your family-related concerns, our smallest visitors can pass the time in the play area. Our youngest Leipzig residents will also be given a "baby box", packed with helpful items and information.

Frequently asked questions

The Family Information Office provides information about family-oriented services, activities and events in Leipzig. You can learn which offices are responsible for specific services, find out where counselling and support services are located, or get information about recreational activities in Leipzig. We can provide you with application forms for parental benefits, child benefits, state child-care benefits, advance support payments, and for reduced Kindergarten fees. There is also a wealth of printed information available to take with you. We offer an internet work space, a diaper-changing station, a room for breast-feeding, and a play area.

To help answer these questions, we hold regular informational sessions where you can hear presentations (in German) from women experts who work in counselling centres and in the Office for Youth, Family and Education. These presentations provide information about such issues as parental leave and benefits, acknowledgement of paternity, custody declarations, financial support and many other topics. At the end of each presentation, there is an opportunity to ask questions.

An overview of all childcare facilities, including profiles, contact information and answers to the most important questions can be found at a special web portal for parents: www.meinkitaplatz-leipzig.de

Through the "Platz-Suche" search function at this web portal, it is possible, up to six months in advance, to reserve a Kindergarten spot for your child. For those facilities that are not available online through the search function, the childcare centre should be contacted directly. A list of addresses for all child day-care facilities can be found by clicking on "Übersicht" at the web portal.

The internet work space at the Family Information Office is available for searching the childcare web portal. We will be glad to provide you with additional assistance in your search.

For extremely urgent day-care needs, please contact the Department of Child Day-Care Centres and Recreational Facilities (Abteilung Kindertagesstätten und Freizeiteinrichtungen) in the Office for Youth, Family and Education.

Children under the age of three may be cared for at an in-home day-care centre. These centres are limited to a maximum of five children, and each child receives entirely individualized care. The day-care providers undergo specialized training and certification by the Office for Youth, Family and Education. You can search here for in-home day-care providers (Tagesmutter/Tagesvater).

Costs are determined by the number of hours of childcare required and are the same as those for nursery day-care.

The contract between you and your in-home day-care provider sets forth all conditions, including what will happen if the provider becomes ill. Be sure to ask about this at your first meeting!

Applications for parental benefits are available in the Family Information Office, as well as at the Parental Benefits section of the Office for Youth, Family and Education, which is where the application will be processed and where you can obtain information about all questions related to parental benefits and parental leave. Parental benefits range from EUR 300 to EUR 1800 monthly. The amount is determined by the earnings of the parent on leave, and is normally around 65% of the net income earned before the birth of the child.